project PRACTICE NINE information
for 3 MAR DIV
DMZ barrier
For date 670301
3 MAR DIV was a US Marine Corps unit
Primary service involved, US Marine Corps
Operation PRACTICE NINE
Quang Tri Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, DMZ
Description: This was the initial name for the McNamara DMZ infiltration barrier project that was known as the Electric Fence or McNamara Line. The 3d Marine Div devoted most of its energy to the preparatory clearing and construction of this barrier. The Marine forward artillery post at Con Thien was the western terminus of the barrier extending to Gio Linh. The barrier consisted of mine-sewn, sensor-saturated, obstacle-swamped swath of bulldozed land backed by a fixed system of elaborate strong-points. The Marines were bluntly opposed to the whole concept. However, the McNamara Line had the highest national priority and a trail segment was ordered to be emplaced by the end of the year.
The source for this information was Rise & Fall p:175+
Rise & Fall = The Rise and Fall of an American Army: U.S. Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1963 - 1973 by Shelby Stanton.
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
Please send additions or corrections to: Gary Roush Email address: webmaster@vhpa.org
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Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023